When the Duck-billed platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales. British scientists’ initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax. George Shaw, who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist’s Miscellany in 1799, stated it was impossible not to entertain doubts as to its genuine nature, and Robert Knox believed it might have been produced by some Asian taxidermist. It was thought somebody had sewn a duck’s beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal. Shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches.
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, the platypus has a sense of electrolocation, which it uses to detect prey in cloudy water. It is also one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers an extremely painful venom. I had no idea!
The unique features of the platypus make it important in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia. It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples, who also used to hunt it for food. It has appeared as a national mascot, features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and is an emblem of the state of New South Wales.
Australian Aboriginal people name or have named the platypus in various ways depending on Australian indigenous languages and dialects. Among the names found are boondaburra, mallingong, tambreet, watjarang (names in Yass, Murrumbidgee, and Tumut), tohunbuck (region of Goomburra, Darling Downs), dulaiwarrung or dulai warrung (Woiwurrung language), Wurundjeri, Victoria), djanbang (Bundjalung, Queensland), djumulung (Yuin language, Yuin, New South Wales), maluŋgaŋ (ngunnawal language, Ngunnawal, Australian CapitalTerritory), biladurang, wamul, dyiimalung, oornie, dungidany (Wiradjuri language, Wiradjuri, Vic, NSW).
Aren’t you glad you know that? There will be a spelling test at the end of the blog!
There is no universally agreed plural form of “platypus” in the English language. Scientists generally use “platypuses” or simply “platypus”. Alternatively, the term “platypi” is also used for the plural, although this is a form of pseudo-Latin; going by the word’s Greek roots the plural would be “platypodes”. Early British settlers called it by many names, such as “watermole”, “duckbill”, and “duckmole”. Occasionally it is specifically called the “duck-billed platypus”.
The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown, biofluorescent fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm. The fur is waterproof, and textured like that of a mole. The platypus’s tail stores fat reserves, an adaptation also found in the Tasmanian devil. Webbing is more significant on the front feet, which in land walking are folded up in knuckle-walking to protect the webbing. The elongated snout and lower jaw are covered in soft skin, forming the bill. The nostrils are located on the snout’s dorsal surface, while the eyes and ears are just behind the snout in a groove which closes underwater. Platypuses can give a low growl when disturbed, and a range of vocalisations have been reported in captivity.
In addition to laying eggs, the anatomy, ontogeny, and genetics of monotremes shows traces of similarity to reptiles and birds. The platypus has a reptilian gait with legs on the sides of the body, rather than underneath. The platypus’s genes are a possible evolutionary link between the mammalian XY and bird/reptile ZW sex-determination systems, as one of the platypus’s five X chromosomes contains the DMRT1 gene, which birds possess on their Z chromosome.
The platypus has secondarily acquired electroreception. Its receptors are arranged in stripes on its bill, giving it high sensitivity to the sides and below; it makes quick turns of its head as it swims to detect prey. Monotremes are the only mammals (apart from the Guiana dolphin) known to have a sense of electroreception, and the platypus’s electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme. Feeding by neither sight nor smell, the platypus closes its eyes, ears, and nose when it dives. Digging in the bottom of streams with its bill, its electroreceptors detect tiny electric currents generated by the muscular contractions of its prey, enabling it to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects. Experiments have shown the platypus will even react to an “artificial shrimp” if a small electric current is passed through it. In 2020, research revealed that platypus fur gives a bluish-green biofluorescent glow in black light.
The platypus is not considered to be in immediate danger of extinction, because conservation measures have been successful, but it could be adversely affected by habitat disruption caused by dams, irrigation, pollution, netting, and trapping. Reduction of watercourse flows and water levels through excessive droughts and extraction of water for industrial, agricultural, and domestic supplies are also considered a threat. The IUCN lists the platypus on its Red List as “Near Threatened” as assessed in 2016, when it was estimated that numbers had reduced by about 30 percent on average since European settlement. The animal is listed as endangered in South Australia, but it is not covered at all under the federal EPBC Act.
More than you ever wanted to know about the Duck-billed Platypus.
